Date

Country

Sites

Region

Africa
Arab States
Asia and the Pacific
Europe and North America
Latin America and the Caribbean

Great Barrier Reef (Australia) High Court Appeal Underway

Friday, September 5, 1997

This page is not published.

The High Court appeal is underway so a note below.

"The controversy in Australia over the countries largest tourist development being constructed adjacent to and in Hinchinbrook Channel of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area continues in the courts. The Friends of Hinchinbrook Society on Wednesday 3rd September filed an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The appeal is from the decision of the Full Federal Court of Australia which supported the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment's decision to consent to the development. The Society case rests largely on whether or not to agree with Justice (now Chief Justice) Brennan's view in the Tasmanian Dams Case in 1983 that the dominant duty of a Party to the Convention is to protect the World Heritage. "Presentation" is subservient to "protection in Article 4. The application is likely to be heard before Xmas. The developer has indicated he intends to continue work such as dredging the channel even though dredging would be prevented if the Society wins the case."